When Samsung first started developing its own operating system, named Tizen, many thought the company would be positioning it as an Android competitor at some point. That hasn't really happened, with only a handful of phones in emerging markets (plus some TVs and watches) actually running it. Samsung today revealed the 'Samsung Z4,' and it's a pretty good representation of the platform as a whole.

First off, the phone is just plain ugly. The front looks nearly identical to the original Galaxy S (just with a smaller home button), and the large rectangular camera bump brings back memories of the S2. Speaking of which, Samsung says the Z4's cameras are "optimized for social media." I have no idea what that means.

It's a tiny phone too - it has a 4.5" 480x800 display. The Z4 also has an unnamed quad-core 1.5 GHz chip, 1 GB of RAM, and a 2,050 mAh battery. The phone will be available in "select countries," starting with India. No pricing was announced, but considering the Z3 is currently ₹ 5 590.00 (about $87) from Samsung India, I expect the Z4 will be somewhere around that price.

I know what you're thinking - "but Corbin, this is a cheap phone, so of course it has terrible hardware!" My point is that the Tizen ecosystem is so terrible and underdeveloped that the premier device for the platform is an awful budget phone for emerging markets. As if the recent revelations about Tizen's awful security didn't make the operating system disappointing enough.

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abqnm

Or maybe the camera sensor is square. With a "massive" 2048x2048 sensor.

India says, "No thanks!". There are better Android devices available for less than ₹4000.

MayorMcCheese

Those soft keys took me back to circa 2010

F4uzan

Ah yes, I love the Galaxy S2 leaks happening now

SpadeX

The truth behind this news is that one of the Samsung engineers in 2011 had a few brilliant ideas for their next flagship's design, and then he somehow discovered a time machine laying around in a dark, always raining forest of which, he used it to travel through time to 2017 thinking that his ideas might still be of any relevance.

Chandan Kumar

It has nothing to with S8 or Note 7. People looking for those phones wouldn't even see these.

SpadeX

I'm aware that this phone isn't intending to compete with others, I never mentioned that in the original post. I said it is a bad choice from Samsung's end to design a phone like that. Nevermind who the targeted audience is.

aegislash

Is the last part of your comment serious? This is in an entirely different league than Samsung's flagships. The bad design choice here has absolutely no reflection on Samsung's high end products, at all.

SpadeX

I'm aware of that of course. I was referring to the fact that it was a horrible design even for that price.

Chronzy

Would it be a stretch to say its intentionally retro? No excuse for that design.

Full HD in India is 1080p, just saying. They don't need remakes of the Galaxy S and S II either because Ringing Bells Freedom 251 offer similar hardware for $3.67 and modern devices are available for $100. So the Samsung retro is squeezed between extremely cheap hardware or modern dito with the obvious spot.

The only buyers in India are those who think the smartphone development reached its highest point in 2011 and want to stay there for all eternity. I am afraid it is a very small part of the population that support such a viewpoint, though.:)

I tried so much to enjoy the Pixel, but determined it just wasn't for me.

But yes, to each their own!

username_not_valid

Put a round home button on it and it could be an iPhone. Worse it looks like a slightly old iPhone, like a 6, because it lacks anything interesting or modern about its design.

Some might think looking like an iPhone is a good thing, but I dont, I find them terribly dated and boring.

Railwayman

Fully agreed.

If you want an iPhone - head down to Apple Store and get one. I reason to buy it from Google - their iPhone is not as good as the original.

Do you want Android? Get a different device then (not a Samsung but rather something like a OnePlus).

Railwayman

I really dislike the Google iPhone aka Pixel. Look at the blue version. Every time I see a Pixel I wonder why I should buy an iPhone made by HTC as a Google ODM when I can get an Apple iPhone?

Google made nicely designed ChromeBook Pixel and Pixel C but failed miserably with their iPhone because... it is too much iPhone but uglier, especially the back - not to mention the dreadful blue edition.

Let's hope the next Pixel get a design more in line with the Pixel C so they don't make another iPhone look-a-like. It could be unfortunate if they copy the iPhone 7 now when Apple are working on the 8 or Anniversary Edition.

Cypher

No, what I'm actually thinking is "but Corbin, you live a first-world life of privilege, so how can you possibly grasp what would satisfy the budget market in India?"

You're right, I don't live in India, but I imagine people in India want a phone with apps too.

Izzie

Personally, I feel the idea is it's basically a feature phone you'd buy for someone like your grandma. They won't care so much if an app isn't available, as long as it works. Tizen to me is a bit like S40, it can do more but it doesn't need to.

MJ

Why do you hate your Grandma? Get her an Android phone... They work, are more secure, and can be found for the same price (with better specs). This phone is for poor people in India that don't know any better.

So no matter how cheap or inexpensive this disaster of a phone is, it's simply
"Dead on Arrival" Samsung should be embarrassed by this product.

WesleySmalls

I wouldn't call it DoA, it surely has it's flaws, but we are also at a position where we have got no clue how the whole market will develop.

Internet of Things is a thing, maybe. The same goes for TV software, as well as portability over a variety of form factors.

Tizen is hanging around in the middle of all the unknowns, and that's not a bad thing, because when something does happen, Tizen can be there on the forefront

Gen. Chang

Hi, have you actually read the security research on Tizen? It may very well succeed in the long run, but they definitely need to step up their game, that's for sure. Otherwise, it's never going to be a viable competitor to ios & Android.

ast00

Galaxy S with a Galaxy W home button and a Galaxy S2 camera. Good.

CF542

Sammy thinks they're so big that they should spawn their own OS. This didn't work out much for Microsoft or others.

sachouba

It's just normal that Samsung starts selling Tizen on budget smartphones...
Why would they sell a high-end smartphone that has very few apps available and lacks critical features ?

It would only affect their image negatively... just like Android when it first launched, which wasn't as smooth as iOS. And still today, some people think that Android is laggy, ugly and difficult to use !
Samsung doesn't want customers to hate Tizen forever.

DopeJam

No one hates tizen. Barely anyone heard about it and even less people care about it to hate it